Cataclysm
by rylew
Summary: Renamed. Tells what happened during the fall of Atlantis. A lot of people died.


**Yeah, I decided to place this chapter under a new title. Again, please R&R.**

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"I don't know. Shouldn't we test that thing before activating it?"

Chaefon turned his attention away from the control panels. "Sometimes you have to take risks if you are to succeed." He looked back towards the console. "Besides, we're already behind schedule and the king will have our heads if we keep delaying him like this."

Chaefon wasn't really comfortable about having an entire armada as extra security around the compound. He sighed. "Let's get back to work."

The Spear of Destiny was the latest project involving hundreds of different engineers and scientists. With Atlantis at war the king, with support of the royal councils, had increased military spending. Every machine from the Ketak all the way to the great Leviathan had been manufactured. Recently, the King Kashekem had issued the creation of another weapon. It was supposed to have more terrifying effects than even the Leviathan. There had been protests that the king was abusing the powers of the crystal. Even some of the council members agreed that the king had gone too far.

The last checkup having been complete, Chaefon ordered for the spear to be brought in. The spear was carried down a set of stairs, which led into a small chamber. Carefully, it was set down into a small gap in the center of the room. The crystal spear gleamed in the blue light of the monitor screens. It was beautiful yet menacing at the same time. Chaefon knew it contained terrifying power.

"It's on standby. Shall I initiate the project?" an engineer asked.

"No," Chaefon said as he walked over to the controls. "I should take full responsibility." He pressed down on a stone pad. It shined a blue color as it activated the weapon.

A soft hum sounded. Everyone held their breath as they watched the spear glow with blue and purple energy.

"Spear is taking in power," a scientist said.

The alarms suddenly blared on. A trail of blue sparks erupted from the spear, sending smoke into the room.

Another scientist cried out, "Electrical conduits are malfunctioning. The spear is taking power beyond its capacity!"

"Shut it down," Chaefon ordered.

The operators keyed frantically at the controls as they tried shutting it down.

Chaefon looked anxiously at the spear. Its tip glowed with bright blue light as power continued to feed into it. "Why isn't it shutting down?"

"We're trying but we can't override it!" said an engineer.

"Chaefon, the voltage is leaking loose into the surface!"

The intercom crackled on. "We're picking up a heavy storm out here." It was the fleet commander up on the surface.

Chaefon didn't respond as he stared down at the screen on his monitor. It was flashing with red warning signals, indicating that the spear was overloading.

"Is anyone out there? Hello?"

Chaefon didn't say anything as he looked at the spear. It glowed as it continued charging with energy. He finally recovered. "Get that spear out of the chamber!"

There was a sudden muffled _thump_ as itechoed across the room_._

Too late.

The entire control room shook as pieces of debris fell from the ceiling.

"Everyone find cover!" Chaefon shouted.

Wall panels exploded around the room. A few unfortunate scientists got caught in the explosion as the force hurled them across the room. They sagged against the wall, their bodies still.

"Great Kings!" the voice cried out from the radio. It was obvious they were having trouble of their own up there.

He still could not believe after having pre-checked every phase on this project that there was still a major flaw. What went wrong? Chaefon then saw the bodies of the dead scientists and felt a flash of anger. He could have prevented all this from happening. Many people were going to die all thanks to him.

The ceiling above him all of a sudden gave way. Chaefon tried to dodge out of the way but he was not fast enough. It caught him and had him pinned down from underneath. He let out a piercing scream as he felt pain searing through his body. He saw Jevax running towards him.

It was the last thing he recalled.

***

The explosion shook the continent of Atlantis, waking the entire city. The streets were crowded as everyone gathered to see a vast number of machines and vehicles of all shape and size swarming above the city. The people screamed in terror as they saw the giant tidal waves, which towered even the tallest structures as they surged towards the city. Soon the entire city was thrown into chaos as the panicking people tried making their way for the shelters.

"Get everyone to the shelters, get everyone to the shelters!" the speakers boomed.

"What's going on?" Neaka asked. She could tell this was not another hurricane coming towards them.

"I don't know," said Roanoke. He grabbed her hand. "Come on." Together the couple headed towards the central ring of the city.

It was all chaos. Market stalls were knocked over, their contents spilling on the ground. The light was suddenly blotted out, throwing the entire city into darkness. A few people screamed as a large massive wave came into view. It towered even the highest mountain peaks.

"We're going to die, we're going to die!" someone yelled.

Neaka felt Roanoke tugging her towards the opposite direction of the crowd.

"Roanoke, what are you…"

Roanoke cut her off. "There's a landing pad back there. We can catch a transport if we hurry."

Hand in hand, they ran into a courtyard before Roanoke paused. "This way," he said. They turned a corner to find the landing pads. A few Nartak transports and an Aktirak was all that remained.

"Now is our chance. Let's go." Roanoke sprinted off with Neaka following behind.

They stopped as they saw a Martag spiral out of control towards them.

"Get down!" Roanoke grabbed Neaka and pulled her down just as the Martag swooped low above them. The pilot managed to bail out of the vehicle before it crashed into the side of a building.

"Help… me… please," the man pleaded. He was in a lot of pain as he lay strewn across the floor and Neaka saw that he had broken both of his legs.

Neaka and Roanoke carried the man over towards the transports. A couple of soldiers had left their posts to assist them. Together they heaved the man on board one of the Nartaks. Everyone managed to clamber into the passenger cabin just as the ramp sealed shut.

"Hang on," the pilot. With a soft hum the Nartak lifted up from the ground.

Soon the Nartak was up in the air, joining with other flying vehicles and machines as they fled the doomed city.

Roanoke saw there were at least a couple dozen people on board. Some of them were standing in the middle aisle. The injured pilot lay in the middle as he was getting his wounds treated. Neaka was rocking in her seat, her knees tucked into her chest.

Roanoke went up and sat next to her. "Everything will be okay," he soothed her.

For a moment Neaka didn't say anything. She then spoke, her voice trembling. "All those people back there…" She took a deep breath. "My family… what if they didn't make it?"

"I'm sure they made it out before the waves hit," he assured her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry we'll find them."

"Look!" Someone pointed out one of the view windows.

Everyone looked out to see a bizarre sight. A blue energy shield surrounded the entire central ring of the city. Vehicles that arrived too late smashed into the wall of solid blue energy.

Neaka clung to Roanoke at the horrifying sight of the waves as it hammered against the energy shield before engulfing the rest of the city.

The entire continent of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea. All that could be seen was the glow of electricity still flickering in the swirling waters.

Something cool touched his forehead. Chaefon felt the rush of energy, of warming wakefulness, stir his veins.

He was suddenly freed from the imprisonment of the green gelid ocean that held him and began to bob towards the surface. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Thank the Kings you're awake!"

Chaefon tried to reply and discovered that his tongue had turned into a three-kilo sack of sand. "Unnnh…"

Jevax put the crystal to his forehead again.

His mind cleared with a snap, his heart pounding as if he'd been waked in panic by a loud noise; he flinched, sat up, aware that his left arm was shaking.

"Your arm may have another chance if we get you to a healer."

"No," Chaefon said. "I'm responsible for bringing all this to my people. I'm not going to just leave them here to die." He winced at the sudden pain in his arm. Half "Help me up. We need to get the spear."

Jevax helped prop him up. Chaefon still felt shaky, strange, and a little dizzy, though moving helped. Everyone else was busy with tending to each other's wounds.

The radio at his waist suddenly crackled on. "Hello? Can anyone still read me?" It was the gruff voice of the commander. Chaefon was surprised to find the radio still intact. The portable radio was one of his latest inventions. It enabled people to communicate with each other from different locations. Like the machines, the radio was powered by inserting a crystal pendant and could keep running on the energies until switched off.

He answered on the radio. "I copy."

"Chaefon? What the hell just happened?"

"There was a malfunction of some sort. How is the situation up there?"

"A tragic," replied the commander, his voice tense. "Over half of my fleet was lost and the entire city is underwater." There was a pause before he continued, "We saw a giant barrier protecting the central ring of the city. There could still be people down there. Another creation of yours?"

"No. Listen, I need to activate the lift. It's the only way we can bring the city back up the surface."

"You can raise the city back up?" the commander asked, There was a sudden hope in his voice.

The pain in his arm was growing worse. "I can only raise a small part of it. There will be refugees heading towards the mountains. Once I raise the city we'll be able to meet you there."

"Let's just hope none of the tunnels collapsed. Just to let you know, it'll take at least several months before the flood waters reside."

"We can manage. There are enough provisions for everyone here." To an Atlantean, one year was no more than a day compared to their expanded life span.

"Don't forget, our machines can always bring down supplies if you ever need them."

"Copy that. I'll keep in touch with you, over and out." He replaced the radio back onto his belt. "Come on, we're still not through yet."

Accompanied by the guards, they made their way down the stairs and into the chamber. The spear stood in the center, the electricity still sputtering around it. Grabbing the spear, Chaefon quickly asked it,

"Shall I, Chaefon, be able to bring Atlantis back up to the surface?" Everyone waited.

No response.

He tried again. "I ask you again. Will Atlantis be able to rise up to the surface?

Still no response.

He cursed. "Why will it not respond? It always worked before."

"Maybe it doesn't like you?" Jevax remarked.

"No."

"No what?" Chaefon demanded.

"I didn't say anything." Jevax said.

Suddenly a blinding light radiated from the tip of the spear, causing everyone to shield their eyes. A woman stood in front of them. She had long, white hair and looked very beautiful although it was indistinguishable to tell of her age.

"No," the woman said. Her tone was firm, thick with authority. "I will not allow Atlantis to rise again. In his arrogance, King Kashekem sought to conquer the world by using me as a weapon. For too long I have endured the cries of the people he had conquered. Now hear this. Therefore, I will end his terror by banishing Atlantis from the world's presence. Never again will it rise up from the depths of the ocean until the king can learn that his powers come from me."

With that, the woman vanished. For a long time the chamber was silent as everyone stared at the spear.

It was Jevax who broke the silence. "Well, this sucks."


End file.
